Robotic devices have become increasingly prevalent in industrial settings where automation of hazardous, time-consuming, and precise operations is desirable. For example, robots have been employed to inspect and repair storage tanks, pipelines, and nuclear facilities, and strip paint and to apply finishes.
In paint stripping operations, for example, the process of manually stripping paint and other finishes off of large structures such as storage tanks, ships, and bridges is a labor-intensive process that is often performed by humans using grit blasting or ultra high pressure (UHP) water jetting techniques and devices. Such techniques and devices, in addition to being labor-intensive, may also create waste disposal problems because, for example, in the case of grit blasting, the grit is intermixed with paint and coating particles (e.g. fungicides) and thus must be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner.
Various robotic devices have been developed for use in stripping paint from large structures. For example, the Flow Hydrocat™ manufactured by Flow International Corporation, uses a vacuum to attach to the surface being stripped. The Hydro-Crawler™, manufactured by JetEdge®, uses rigid magnetic tracks that attach to the surface being stripped and propel the robot on the surface.